Complicated
by Lizzy635
Summary: A bit dark and angsty story. Jack and Audrey are married but stay together mainly because they share a son. On and off Jack finds himself cheating on his wife with Chloe, mainly when Chloe is not seeing anyone romantically. They have tried to honor his marriage but circumstances (and great passion) pull them together time and time again over the years. Jack/Chloe.


"Why was he here? Why do I find the two of you together all the time?"

"We work together, Keith. I can't really well not be around him."

"Does working together suggest him visiting you at your apartment late at night?"

Chloe exhaled, clearly frustrated that they were fighting about Jack, again. She walked away from him to the kitchen, to where he followed her. She started making herself some tea.

"Keith, I have told you this a million times. Jack and I are only friends now. There's nothing going on between us"

"Don't lie to me" and all of a sudden he pushed her against the kitchen cabinet.

Chloe was clearly taken aback by his sudden anger but tried to calm him down "I'm not lying, I swear. Everything that Jack and I once had is over and has been for a long time."

"But you would take him back, if he wanted you to?" And the man she's been living with for the last 6 months, steps closer to her, eyeing her like she was some kind of a criminal. She could smell alcohol in his breath and that surprised her because he was a recovering alcoholic. Chloe hadn't known him long enough to know what he was like when he had been drinking and when that realization hit her she grew upset which she tried to hide from Keith.

"No, of course not, I'm with you now, remember?" She walked away from him leaving him contemplating what she had just said.

When he turned around to face her, he saw that she had a phone in her hand and was dialing a number.

There was only one person she wanted to call and she hoped she could do that before things got out of hand. But what happened next was too fast for her to understand it fully. She felt pain in her mouth and her head as it hit something hard. She felt being thrown up against the wall and falling down. She felt being beaten to face and stomach until she couldn't take it anymore and passed out.

Jack was working late in CTU New York. He was in his boss's, Brian Hasting's office, doing some paperwork. There was a knock on the door and a beautiful brunette walked in.

"Jack, Audrey is on line 2"

"You told her I was here?"

"Well, yeah, I'm not going to lie for you"

Jack exhaled. "Ok, Kate, tell her that I am really busy but I'll be home in an hour, ok?"

"Ok, as you wish"

"Thank you"

Kate left and closed the door. Jack started to get his things together, shoving some papers in his briefcase, while leaving others on the table for Hastings to see. He heard a knock on the door again and looked to see that it was Kate again.

"Tell her that I'm already leaving and I won't be long"

"It's not your wife this time" and her expression was very serious and a little bit scared. And Jack knew the look; the look he had seen on the faces of so many people when they were afraid of him, of what he was capable of. And that was enough to make him anxious.

"I just got a call from Lennox Hill hospital. It's Chloe." Her voice was almost a whisper when she finished.

"Chloe… " He choked, not expecting it to be about her, as he just saw her alive and well. "In a hospital? Why? What happened to her?" He was visibly upset by the news and that frightened Kate even more. She didn't answer right away.

"Kate…spit it out" He stepped closer to her, his tone gone up a notch.

Her voice was still a whisper when she continued, "She was beaten up. She's in a critical condition… But they are optimistic that she pulls through."

She could hardly finish when he was already out the door.

Jack ran through the corridors searching for her room. When he found the room he was looking for and was about to go in, a man in a white coat put his hand on his arm to stop him.

"Excuse me, who are you?"

"My name is Jack Bauer. I'm here to see Chloe O'Brian. I'm…a friend of hers."He said with a certain amount of determination."Why are you asking? Isn't she allowed to have visitors?"

"No, no, it's not that. It's just that the police is not here yet and I have orders not let in her boyfriend, Keith Richards, until then. I just needed to ID you."

Jack had a hard time restraining his anger. "He did this?"

"That's what the police thinks, yes. Her neighbor found her, but she hasn't regained consciousness yet to confirm it. All of his belongings appeared to be gone by the time the neighbor girl got there." He paused, letting the information sink in for Jack. "I'm sorry but I have to check on her now. When I finish, you can see her. "

"Ok, thank you, doctor" He walked away and dialed a number.

"I need a favor"

When he got off the phone, the doctor came out of her room.

"Doctor, how is she?"

"Her condition is still critical, but I believe she's going to pull through."

"Ok, thank you, doctor"

The doctor walked away and Jack stared at the direction of her room, afraid to go in, not ready for the sight he'd be witnessing. But when he did get himself together and stepped in the room, he knew…He knew that nothing could have prepared him for the sight he now witnessed.

To say that she was in a bad shape would be the understatement of the year. She was hooked to a tubes and machines that kept her alive. Her face was so swollen he could barely recognize her. There were visible bruises on her hands and arms. At that moment his heart broke but he knew he couldn't break down just yet. There was something that needed to be taken care of first and as if on cue, his phone vibrated.

"Yeah" He answered his phone with a gruff voice.

"Ok, I have the information for you" said the voice on the other end of the line.

"Good"

"Keith Richards is currently at the airport and is waiting for a flight to London. His plane leaves in half an hour."

"And the NYPD doesn't have that information yet?"

"No"

"Ok, good, thank you"

"You owe me one, Jack"

"Yeah, I know," he said and hung up the phone. He looked at her for a moment longer, stepped closer to her and went down to plant a kiss on her lips.

"I'm going to make it right, I promise" he whispered softly. "He's going to wish that he was never even born".

He looked at her, his face only inches from hers as a single tear ran down his cheek.

"I love you." And with that he left the room.

When he left, Chloe opened her eyes and stared into space, having clearly heard everything he had just said.

Few days later, Chloe's condition was better and the doctor allowed her to be questioned by the police.

"So, you have no idea where he might have gone, Ms O'Brian?"

"No, not really. He didn't have much of a family. I know he had some relatives in Miami, but I don't think he would have went there."

The two detectives were writing it down and when she finished, they had what they needed from her.

One of them said, "Alright, that's all. Thank you."

"Thank you. I hope you find him. I'm sorry that I couldn't be more helpful," she said with a regretful tone of voice that was sincere as all she could think about was how she could fall for him and not see the signs of violence in him sooner. Jack had warned her that something was off with him, but she being stubborn just didn't take him seriously.

The detectives were about to leave, when one of them got a phone call. When he ended the call, the two detectives whispered something and then they turned back to Chloe.

"Ms O'Brian," one of them started, "I'm sorry to tell you this, but the man you were living with, Keith Richards, was found dead about an hour ago."

Chloe was shocked even though she could have anticipated that when Jack left her room the other day, promising to make him pay. She guessed that part of her hoped that he meant to hurt him badly and not actually kill him, but that's not how Jack operates when someone hurts his loved ones. And she let out a sigh at that thought, even feeling sorry for Keith.

"Oh god… How? Do you know who did it?"

"There were other marks on his body, but the fatal wound seems to be a shot in the head. We have no suspects, yet. But it happening right after what he did to you, makes us believe that it's someone who wanted to make him pay for what he did to you. So do you have any idea who it might be? Someone who'd go though that trouble for you?"

"For me? Are you kidding me? I mean I'm just a computer nerd who works with computers. I don't have many friends or family members. Least of all the type who'd actually commit a homicide to protect me…or for whatever reason. No, I don't know any murderers personally, " she finishes bluntly.

"Ok, thank you for you co-operation. Don't leave the city, we might have some questions."

And with that they left. And they were not gone for long before the sound of a familiar voice is heard in Chloe's room.

"You know one."

"Jack," Chloe started when she saw him at the door of her room, but didn't really know what to say. She wasn't really angry with him , but didn't want to let him off the hook that easily either, "What one? What are you talking about?"

Jack came closer, sat on the side of her bed, took her hand is his and got closer to her.

"You know one murderer personally," and he smiled.

"That's really funny, Jack." But Chloe didn't even smile as she obviously meant it to be sarcastic with a hint of anger.

"I love you," was all he could say as his expression turned serious again.

"I love you, too, but I don't go around New York killing your ex-lovers, do I?"

"He wasn't just your ex-lover, he violated y-" but he couldn't finish because Chloe had put her hand on his mouth to silence him.

"I know," and she looks him straight in the eye, "We're past that, now." She started to lift her head from the pillow to get closer to him, but he kept her down and got closer to her instead.

"Right now," she continues, "I just need you."

After that there were no words as they first hugged tightly and then went for a kiss that was as hungry and passionate as one kiss could be between two people who were so in love as those two and yet so scared of losing the other.


End file.
